Hestavar
Although the bustling City of Brass might be the largest metropolis in the universe, many consider that the cosmopolitan heaven of Hestavar is the most beautiful, richest, and civilized. This light-drenched oasis can feel familiar and downright cozy in contrast to the weird void of the Astral Sea that surrounds it. Its grand architecture and gempaved streets shine brightly upon the stone settings of its lagoon’s islands and earthmotes. Its gardens and parks are both lush and manicured, retaining their verdant beauty without a hint of the overgrown chaos indicative of the Feywild. Its people are cultured, civilized, and known for their passion for philosophy, craft, and the arts. However, the description above is not what normally attracts adventurers to Hestavar. Instead, one of the reasons they flock to this peaceful city among the clouds is because of its status as the best trading center in the Astral Sea. The sun literally never sets here; as a result, commerce never knows when to sleep, and thus it doesn’t. And while it lacks the vast, smoking forges and smithy factories of the City of Brass, Hestavar has its share of brilliant armorers and weaponsmiths who craft graceful and lithe weapons of quality—free of slave labor, its crafters quickly point out. Also, more than the efreet city, Hestavar serves as a center of magic item creation and innovation, and many consider the dominion of both Erathis and Ioun to be the ultimate center of learning and industry in the universe. From the halls of Kerith-Ald, the greatest academic minds of the planes ponder the mysteries of the universe. While much of their contemplation is theoretical in nature, their activity is connected to the various guilds, craft halls, and artisans of Methion by way of a complicated web of patronage by the rich and powerful exalted trading houses of Hestavar. The orb arcane implement, the discipline of alchemy, the water clock, the homunculus, and even the mighty spelljammer all originated in the city, or grew out of other arcane innovations created by the relationship (and fierce competition) of academic, patron, and artisan in the city. So, while the ability to buy, sell, and trade treasures and information can drive adventurers to Hestavar, and the game of arcane innovation might keep the artificer or the crafting wizard in the city for even longer, some find that the Bright City is more than a beautiful supply stop. Many who explore the strange frontier of the Astral Sea utilize the city as a base of operations. It serves as a respite from the vast alien and mostly lifeless environs outside it, plus it is second only to the City of Doors in the number of conduits and means of transport to other parts of the universe. Additionally, some who sail the planes by planar dromond or spelljammer find Hestavar useful as a haven. And, if all of the above isn’t enough to entice adventurers to visit at least once, three civilized deities make it their domain, which can attract the faithful or those seeking a favor from the three. Finally, Hestavar is a nexus of healing and restoration magic that can be won easily through deed or bought at a reasonable price. Even the most successful adventurers might need restorative assistance from time to time. Origins of the Bright City Even the most ambitious historians of Kerith-Ald — Ioun’s own bastion of learning in the Bright City — do not believe anyone can compile a concise or complete history of the epochs of war between the gods and primordials. The time period involved is so expansive that it boggles the mortal mind. Eventually, even the most earnest and disciplined scholars might find it difficult and belittling to comprehend that one’s life is just the blink of an eye to a deity or a primordial. But what is known and well documented by the scribes and seers of Kerith-Ald, which is also called the Swan Tower, is that in an early and violent period of that war, a powerful, blustering primordial named Heur-Ket invaded the Astral Sea and caused great havoc with his advance. As he pushed deeper into the Astral Sea, deities perished and their dominions were blown asunder. With each victory Heur-Ket grew stronger, bolder, and more arrogant in his belief that the deities and their servants should be punished for their interference with the First Work. A trio of deities who held domains in relatively close proximity of each other knew that they would eventually become the target of Heur-Ket’s wrath. These three gods—Pelor, Erathis, and Ioun—each controlled domains that were peaceful paradises. And though each commanded his or her own legion of angels, none of their domains were particularly well suited for war or even an extended siege. Pelor’s domain, a field of sun-drenched planes dotted with farms and gardens, had no walls or parapets. Erathis held a city atop a large earthmote, and villas and workshops cluttered its surface. Traditionally its streets were open, because trade and innovation thrive among an open society. Ioun’s dominion was a large scrying pool in the form of a vast and sparkling lagoon surrounded by white sandy beaches; her domain’s only real defense was its mistress’s ability to divine its approaching doom. For mutual defense, Erathis, Ioun, and Pelor not only decided to pool their forces, but also combine their dominions. Fusing the features of all three of their former domains together, the trio waited and planned for the primordial’s attack. They didn’t have to wait long. Tales of their alliance reached Heur-Ket, and it enraged the primordial. Hastily he moved to attack the dominion, forgoing any form of reconnaissance or tactics. He would destroy these upstarts like he destroyed their kin, with the swift brutal force of the Elemental Chaos. Some say the battle for Hestavar lasted century, but scholars of the Swan Tower believe that might describe the entirety of Heur-Ket’s campaign into the Astral Sea. In the end, the combined might of Pelor, Erathis, and Ioun defeated the primordial, but not without cost. To this day a section of Hestavar’s paradise is marred by Heur-Ket’s legacy. A swirling mass of wind and occasional destructive bouts of thunder and lightning churn at (and create) the windward end of the dominion, marking the Salts neighborhood of the dominion. Some still suggest that the trio of deities didn’t destroy Heur-Ket, but merely bound him to the spot in the domains, like the gods bound countless primordials elsewhere in the universe. This accusation is officially and vehemently denied by the angel Kemuel, who serves as the voice of Hestavar’s rule and high minister of the city’s angelic bureaucracy. The Defenders of Hestavar The Bright City is guarded by legions of angels who are servants to the city’s three deities: Erathis, Ioun, and Pelor. The angelic captains of Hestavar command flights of angels of valor and are supported by angels of valor and the occasional angel of vengeance in times of dire need. Furthermore, the exalted of all three deities serve in the city’s defense force. The most famous of these are the Bright Guard, a force of Pelor's exalted almost 5,000 strong. They fight as fearlessly as any angel, confident in Pelor’s grace and their ability to return to fight again under the Sun Lord’s just banner. The Bright Guard also serves as Hestavar’s police force, patrolling all but the inner islands of the Salts. Angelic Captain of Hestavar's Tactics The angelic captain wades into battle with its troops, supporting the death-dealing potential of angels of valor or other minion allies with various marking powers compounded by its ruination of the marked ability. When the first minion falls, it typically calls forth reinforcements with its many from one power. Exalted Bright Guard's Tactics Armed with the versatile tratnyr, the exalted Bright Guard is equally adept at ranged and close combat. Fast and powerful, they prefer to charge a foe and let loose with bright guard smite, and then charge to their next foe, throwing their tratnyrs first if they can’t make the distance in the charge. Souls of the Bright City The Bright City is greater than even the grandest metropolis of the world. This improved urban reality feels like a dream of civilized perfection. Those setting eyes on the city see opulent wealth displayed not only on nearly every surface of the cityscape, but also on the people who populate the city. Foremost among the souls of the Bright City are its founders: Erathis, Pelor, and Ioun. These three gods forged a trio of ill-defended divine dominions into a near perfect city. Though the true masters of their domain—their combined divine power shaped it out of pure astral and maintains its general morphology and physical laws—they take little interest in everyday governance of the city. Although Erathis and Pelor, called the King and Queen of Light by their devoted subjects, appear at official functions and are the face of the city, they leave the minutia of rule to their angelic bureaucracy, which is led by its chief minister Kemuel. Ioun is almost entirely absent from government, since she prefers to pursue knowledge in the Swan Tower or roam the universe in the search of esoteric proofs of the obscure metaphysics theorized by the academics of Kerith-Ald. Although the deity rulers of Hestavar stay largely in the background, their servants are everywhere. If one counts the legions that host a number of well-defended outposts that lie outside the dominion, those who patrol the sections of the Astral Sea nearby, and the bands that do their leader’s bidding in points that stretch throughout the universe and even beyond, angels are the largest population block of the city. The angels of Hestavar are always on the march or consumed with a task. They see civilization and society as the fruits of their labors for others to enjoy, not as activities in which to take part. Such activities are for the exalted, devas, and the mortals that dwell in the city. Gods and angels aside, the most numerous and arguably the most important people in Hestavar are the exalted souls. When a mortal dies and its soul travels on to the Shadowfell, a small number of the elect — those souls chosen by one deity or another to serve them in the afterlife — become exalted. Beings with an appearance similar to that they had in life (though maybe a more perfect, younger form and with the wisdom of age and experience), the exalted are both rewarded and expected to serve their deity in the afterlife — in a way that takes advantage of their natural talents and accumulated knowledge. Many thousand exalted souls of Pelor, Ioun, and Erathis dwell in Hestavar, each serving their deities or the city in large ways and small. These exalted align themselves in houses. From these houses, these exalted “families” pursue their personal and their deity’s goals. Houses of Pelor exalted oversee agriculture interests on the dozens of farm islands and earthmotes of Hestavar or populate the defensive and policing forces of the dominion. The families of Erathis exalted involve themselves in the Game of Making or work within the angelic bureaucracy. Many houses of Ioun exalted work within the Swan Towers or serve the angelic bureaucracy. These houses are not true family in most cases. An exalted house can have members of most civilized races all serving the same goal. Even some of the exceptional members of the more savage races are within these families from time to time since deities judge souls, not the flesh. However, it’s rare, though not impossible, for large numbers of people from the same mortal family to become exalted in the same dominion. For example, at least one house, House Incenan, is ruled by a quartet of dwarf sisters. Regardless of the relationships exalted had before coming to Hestavar, though, relationships once they arrive and exist in the city for a while can be as strong or even stronger than kin; the bonds within the families are strengthened by centuries of cooperation and achieving the house’s ends. Death has little hold over some kinships, so one could consider exalted souls to be close to true immortals. When the exalted of Hestavar perish, they are reborn a week and a day later within the Aurosion (in the cases of exalted of Pelor or Erathis) or in the Hall of Enlightenment at the base of Kerith-Ald (in the case of exalted of Ioun). Some exceptions to this process exist, however; if an exalted’s death occurred in pursuit of goals counter to a deity’s wishes or creed, the exalted might truly die. The rest of Hestavar’s population is made up of transient or transplanted mortals or other peoples of the Astral Sea. Foremost of these groups are devas. Similar in some ways to exalted, these reborn souls are thrust out into the far corners of the universe; they find their way to the Bright City at some point in their lives, especially those who worship one of the Bright City’s three patrons. Many stay for a period of time, since it is the closest place to home for these typically wandering loners, which means that the Bright City is one of the largest concentrations of devas in the universes. A school of angelic philosophers in the Swan Tower theorize that devas are the souls of angels thrown to the world during Heur-Ket’s assault on the Astral Seas, but Ioun has warned that such a simple theory does not seem to fit the complex and subtle nature of these reborn beings. Angelic, deva, and exalted souls might be the largest groups of people in Hestavar, but not everyone in the city is so spiritually pure. As the cosmic center of both knowledge and innovation, not to mention a bastion of unimaginable wealth, Hestavar has many trading partners and people interested in an alliance with the city. Almost every intelligent race can be found within the city, and embassies from every dominion of the Astral Sea, various Feywild enclaves, a scattering of Shadowfell bastions, and even a handful of powerful nations and city states from the world are among its islands and motes. All these embassies come with large staffs of representatives to treat with the angelic bureaucracy and exalted families, and they also trade knowledge with the sages of the Swan Tower. They even trade and negotiate with their rivals on peaceful, neutral ground. These embassies not only represent their leader’s interests, but also the interests of independent traders, artisans, and even adventurers. Second only to Hestavar’s exalted houses, the various embassies are the chief patrons for adventuring parties within, and for expeditions outside, the city.